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Rebuilding America's crumbling infrastructure is one way to help rebuild "the resilience of American society" after terrorist attacks and natural disasters have left many feeling powerless, argues Stephen E. Flynn in the current issue of Foreign Affairs. Drawing on ASCE's report card on America's infrastructure, which gives dismal grades to our infrastructure, Flynn says, "Robustness also entails investing in and maintaining elements of critical infrastructure, such as dams and levees, so that they can withstand low-probability but high-consequence events."

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Officials at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport hope to open a new airport terminal in 2011, and the Transportation Committee of the Atlanta City Council on Wednesday tentatively approved $1.2 billion for construction. The proposed terminal would include 12 gates and a parking deck.

Under pressure from a local casino, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour is urging the Port of Gulfport to scrap its plans for a westward expansion and build to the south instead. Executives at Island View Casino complained that current expansion plans would block views from the $300 million resort. Port officials counter that the westward expansion is needed to stay competitive since a newly widened Panama Canal allows bigger ships into Gulfport.

New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority is pushing back several long-awaited projects as rising construction costs wreak havoc with the department's budget. Both a new subway on Manhattan's East Side and new rail connections from Long Island to Grand Central Terminal won't get started until 2015, MTA announced Wednesday. The agency said higher materials costs have driven up the price tag of various projects by $1.5 billion.

Though job losses in the manufacturing sector have battered Michigan's economy, the engineering field continues to enjoy high demand. That's the message of an upcoming conference at Lawrence Technological University in Southfield, Mich., where College of Engineering Dean Devdas Shetty wants to emphasize changes and opportunities in the profession. In order to keep up with the demands of industry, "engineers have to become designers and innovators," Shetty says.

Congressional Democrats are looking to pull tax breaks from big oil companies in a populist move. The House on Wednesday passed the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act, which funds tax credits for wind, solar and other renewable-energy sources. The tax credits are offset by removing $18 billion in tax breaks for big oil companies.